What does "lacerate" mean?
To tear, rip or wound.
Lacerate
/ˈlæ.sɚ.ɛɪt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To tear, rip or wound.
- Grammar: lacerate is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abrade, afflict, agonize, ail.
- Useful contrasts: heal, laud, mend.
- Usage evidence: If you don't wear protective clothing, the sharp leaves will lacerate your skin.
How to use "lacerate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lacerate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lacerate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lacerate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lacerate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lacerate" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abrade" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lacerate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To tear, rip or wound. transitive
"Machinery, surgical precision / Lacerate the limbs of the poorest of the children / Watch them scatter through the fields of departed"
- 2 cut or tear irregularly wordnet
- 3 To defeat thoroughly; to thrash. figuratively, transitive
"When the fixtures tumbled out of the computer for the start of a newly promoted season, Nigel Adkins must have wondered whether he had unknowingly broken any mirrors while walking under a ladder. Hot on the heels of a tough introduction to both Manchester clubs, a rampant Arsenal lacerated Southampton."
- 4 deeply hurt the feelings of; distress wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Mangled, torn, lacerated. not-comparable, obsolete
"But as they detrected the doing of theyr duetie, so god euer graunted vnto this realme force to compell them thervnto within memory, not withstandyng any theyr interruption by resistence, which vnto the tyme of our progenitour Henry the VI. neuer indured so longe as it made intermission within tyme of mynde, wherby the possession myght seme to be enpaired: from the tyme of Henry the VI vnto the seuenth yere of our reigne, how our realme hathe ben for a season lacerate and torne by diuersitie of titles, tyl our time and syns by warre outwardly vexed and troubled, The story is so lamentable for some parte therof, as were tedious to reherse."
- 2 Jagged, as if torn or lacerated. not-comparable
"The bract at the base is dry and papery, often lacerate near its apex."
Adjective
- 1 having edges that are jagged from injury wordnet
- 2 irregularly slashed and jagged as if torn wordnet
Example
"If you don't wear protective clothing, the sharp leaves will lacerate your skin."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lacerate"?
Common synonyms include: abrade, afflict, agonize, ail, attack, bark.
How do you use "lacerate" in a sentence?
If you don't wear protective clothing, the sharp leaves will lacerate your skin.
How do you pronounce "lacerate"?
Pronounced /ˈlæ.sɚ.ɛɪt/.
Etymology
The verb is first attested in 1425, the adjective in 1514; inherited from Middle English laceraten, borrowed from Latin lacerātus, perfect passive participle of lacerō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).